Plant setter



Feb. 16 1926.

E. c. PEARSON l PLANT sETTER Filed August 4, 1924 5 Sheets-SheetAl Feb. 16 1926. l

E. C. PEARSON PLANT SETTER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed August 4, 1924 Feb. 16 1926.

E.C.PEAR$ON` PLANT SETTER Filed August 4, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 provide novel means for raising the fur- Patented Feb. 16,` 19.26.

l 1,573,270 PATENT OFFICE..

ELIHIJ' C. PEARSON, OF STILLWATEB, OKLAHOMA.

PLANT SETTER.

Application ltd August 4, 1924. Serial No. 730,080.

'VG all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ELTHU C. PnARsoN, a citizen of the United States, residin at StillwaterLin the county of Payne and tate of Oklahoma, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Plant Setters, of which the following is a specication.

This invention appertains to a novel machinefordepositing young plants, such as tomato, cabbage, tobacco plants, and the like, in the ground, and the primary object of the inventionis to provide an improved machine embodying a shoe for opening up the furrow ,for receiving the plants, novel means for receiving and depositing the plants one at a time in the ground, and novel means for watering the ground around the plants after the same have been set.

A further object of the invention is'to row opening shoe and the plant setting device into an inoperative position when the machine is being moved from one place to another.` u

A further object of the invention is to provide novel means for constructing the device for receiving and depositing the plants in the ground, said device embodying a pair of plant receiving disks having flexible rims and novel means for forcing the 'rims in gripping contact with the plants and out of contact with the plants at the desired time for permitting the same to Le deposited in correct position in the ground. J A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved plant'setter of the above character, which will be durable and cllicient in use, one that will be simple and easy to manufacture, and one which can be placed upon the market at a small cost.

v,ith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction,

- arrangement and formation of parts, as will be hereinafter more specifically described, claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which drawings.:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the improved machine. l

Figure 2 is a side elevation ofthe same, Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical section through the machine, e

Figure 4 is .an elevation of one of the plant depositing disks looking from the 'inside thereof, and i FigureA 5 is a detailed diamet-rlc section through the plant depositing device illustrating the novel flexible rims for engaging the plants to be deposited.

Referring to the drawingsA in detail-` wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter` A generali indicates the frame ofthe machine; B t e furrow opening device; C the plant receiving and depositing device; and D the plant watering mechanism. l

The frame A of the machine can be constructed in any desired way and of any desired material, but ,as shown includes thel spaced longitudinally extending side beams 1() formed of angle iron and front and rear connecting cross beams -11 and 12. The

front cross beam 11 can have secured thereto in any desired way any preferred type of draft appliance to ermit the machinetobe drawn across a fiel The rear end of the frame A supports 'in any desired manner.

the transversely extending main axle 13 on which is mounted the rear ground wheels 14. Extending transversely across which swivelly carries the front ground wheel 16. This ground wheel 16 is of a relatively small diameter and includes a relatively broad rim for breaking up clods in the path of the furrow o ening device B.

The furrow opening evice B comprises a shoe 20 preferably formed of heavy metal with its forward end upturned and sharpened as at 2l to facilitate the opening of the furrow for the reception of the plants to be set. It is also preferred to have the outer surface of the shoe polished similar to the outer surface of an ordinary plow. The body portion of the shoe 20 adjacent to the the frame at the front thereof is a brace bar 15- rear end thereof is bifurcated as at 22 and fiared upwardly as clearly shown' in Figure 1 for a purpose, which will be hereinafter more fully described. The upturned end 21 of the shoe 20 rockably receives .the front frame 24, which is disposed below the main Vframe A. This supplemental supporting frame 24 elnbodies longitudinally extending side bars 25 connected at their forward ends cross bar 23 of the supplemental supporting by the bar 23 and at their-rear ends by the lowered for bringing the shoe and the plant setting device C into r'and out'of operative position'relative to the ground, and

this means embodies a hand lever 26, secured to a shaft l27 at its lower end which is car ried by the sector rack 28. The lever is -held in its adjusted position by means of a suitable plug or bar 29 which is adapted to engage in the said rack. The shaft 27 has secured to its other end .a double-armed lever 30 and the opposite -ends -of this lever has secured thereto links 31 and 32l respecl tively. The link 32 is connected with a bell crank' 33 .which ispivoted at its angle on nected with the upper end of a crank arm 36 vwhich is secured in any desired way to a transversely extending shaft 37 rockably mounted in bearings 38 carried by the side 37 has also keyed or otherwise secured thereisl secured to the eXtreme upper end of the curved extension 21-of the 'shoe 20. It is obvious that by moving the lever 26-that the shoe and frame 24 and parts carried therebyl can be raised. and lowered.

The plant setting deviceC compris'es .a pair offfacing disks 40=and 41which are rotatably mounted atv their axial centers :'on a suitable transversely extending shaft 42 rigidly secured .in any desired way lto the side bars 25 of the supplemental frame 24.

Each disk 40 and 41 embodies a solid circular plate 43 rotatably mounted onV the shaft 42.-v The inner faces of these solid l'plates 43 'have connected thereto by means of hub rings 44 radially extending 'sector shapedbowed resilient .arms 45 which Vare all connected togetherA at their outer ends by padded rims 46 which lare utilized for gripping the plants in such "a manner that injury thereto will be precluded. The Sector shaped arms 45 and the rims 46 are nor, mally held in engagement with the plates 43 by means of expansion springs 47 which lare coiled about rods 48. These rods 48 extend through suitable openings in the circu- [lar plates 43 and the innert' ends of 'these outer faces of the rods are'pivota'lly connected to the said sector shaped arms 45. The cater ends of the rods or bolts 48 are provided with heads 49 and the springs 47 engage the heads and the l plates 43. Thus it is obyvious that the resilient arms will be normally urged toward theJ said plates. By this conv struction so 'far explained, it can be seen that las the machine isdriven across a lfield thatthe peripheries of the solid plates 43 engage the ground and rotate in a clockwise- `the rims will be separated and the plants released. The means for bringing the padded rims toward and away from each other embodies a pair of cam plates 50 whichI are rigidlysecured to the shaft 42' and these l cam plates 50 extend forwardly toward the front of the machine and by referring-to' Fig. 1 of the drawings it can be seen that these cam plates have the inner portions thereof gradually increased in thickness ltoward their lower ends so that the said cam plates appear to converge toward eachother. By referring -to Fig. 1 it can be seen that a cam plate 4is arranged on each side `of the disk and'that the curved heads of the bolts .148 are adapted tol engage the inner surface bars 10 of the main frame A. This shaft of the cam plates during the rotation of the A "plant setting device. to a cranlrarm 39 the forward end of which of the cams and that the heads riding on said surface will gradually force in the flexilble sector plates 45 bringing the rims 46 intogripping contact with one another. At

this time the operatorfeeds the plants one Y at a time between the rims and the operator ranged on the frame. Now the plant setting device continuing its rotationwill bring the plants downward toward the ground and as the heads 49 of the rods or bolts ride 0E of the cam surface 'the springs 47 will reyturn thelexible plates and that portion of the padded rims carried thereby back to their normal positions releasing the plants vand thus depositing the same in the ground.

The plant watering device D embodies liquid receiving tanks 60 carried by the rear end of the frame A and these tanks are con- -nected by means of suitable lead pipes 61 to yplates 43 of the plant setting device C are provided with outwardly extending pins 65 which are disposed in the path of the valve lever 63. It is thus obvious that as the disk rotates that the pins 65 will engage the valve `is adapted to situpon a suitable seat 52 ar- .lever 63 thus causing the opening thereof each time a plant is deposited into the ground.

A drivers seat 70 can he arranged on the frame for permitting the driver to readily control the draft animals.

From the foregoing description, it can be seen that I have provided an exceptionally simple and durable plant setting device which Will permit of a number of plants to be set in the ground in an expeditions and easy manner.

Changes in details may be made Without departing from the spi-rit or thescope of this invention, but:

What I claim as new is: v

1. A plant setting device comprising a Wheeled frame, a pla-nt depositing Wheel carried by the frame having a pair of solid plates, resilient sector arms secured to the inner faces of the plates, padded rims secured to the outer ends of the arms, spring means for normally holding the rims in engagement with their respective plates, and means for urging the flexible rims toward one another against the tension of said sprlngs at predetermined times.

2. A plant setting device comprlsmg a Wheeled frame, a plant depositing Wheel carried by the frame embodyingr a pair of circular plates 4for engaging the ground, sector shaped resilient arms secured to the inner surface of the plates and extending radially from the axial centers thereof. padded rims secured to the outer ends of the flexible sector shaped arms, sliding rods carried by the circular plates andv attached to the arms, heads formed on the outer ends of the rods, expansion springs coiled about the rods and engaging the circular plates and the heads on the rods for normally urging the arms and rims in engagement with their respective circular plates, and cam members disposed in the path of the heads on the rods for urging the arms to- War'd one another at a predetermined point for permitting the gripping and placing of plants in the ground.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ELIHU C. PEARSON. 

